Physical Activity in Early- and Mid-Adulthood Are Independently Associated With Longitudinal Memory Trajectories in Later Life

Abstract

Background Physical activity (PA) in later-life may reduce dementia risk, but little is known regarding long-term cognitive effects of PA that occurred earlier in adulthood or mechanisms underlying associations. PA patterns at different ages may independently contribute to dementia risk, which would implicate multiple critical periods for intervention. The current study tested whether retrospective reports of PA in early- and mid-adulthood were independently associated with later-life longitudinal memory outcomes and whether associations were mediated by late-life cardiometabolic diseases. Methods Participants comprised 5,200 Health and Retirement Study Life History Mail Survey respondents. Latent growth curves estimated independent associations between retrospectively reported PA in early-adulthood (age 18-29) and mid-adulthood (age 40-49) and 16-year episodic memory trajectories. Indirect pathways involving the maintenance of PA from early- to mid-adulthood and the influence of PA on later-life cardiometabolic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease) were also estimated. Results PA in early- and mid-adulthood independently predicted higher initial memory level and slower memory decline in later-life, respectively. Early-adulthood PA was indirectly associated with later-life memory level through higher mid-adulthood PA and lower rates of later-life hypertension, as well as with subsequent memory decline through higher mid-adulthood PA. Conclusions The current findings highlight the importance of PA throughout adulthood, such that initiating and/or maintaining exercise in early- or mid-adulthood may be protective for later-life cognitive health, and hypertension appears to represent a key mediator of these effects.

Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Viewpoints Among Members of an Alzheimer Prevention Registry

“…We found that participants reported high levels of engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviors related to exercise (mean 3.4 d/wk), diet (60% reported a healthy/balanced diet), and cognitive stimulation (52% engaging in cognitive stimulation 3 to 7 d/wk), all of which may mitigate future cognitive decline. 22 These findings contrast with evidence from large community adult samples showing that few people engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors, 23 particularly related to physical activity among older adults. 24 It is likely that our group was motivated toward dementia prevention given that they volunteered for the registry and that many had risk factors for dementia, including family history of dementia (79%) and SMD (46%).…”

“…This study characterized levels of engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviors, knowledge about modifiable risk factors for dementia, and potential facilitators and barriers to engagement in these behaviors in an AD prevention registry. We found that participants reported high levels of engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviors related to exercise (mean 3.4 d/wk), diet (60% reported a healthy/balanced diet), and cognitive stimulation (52% engaging in cognitive stimulation 3 to 7 d/wk), all of which may mitigate future cognitive decline 22. These findings contrast with evidence from large community adult samples showing that few people engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors,23 particularly related to physical activity among older adults 24.…”

Life course engagement in enriching activities: When and how does it matter for cognitive aging?

“…Outside of work, Iso-Markku et al (2016) found that participants who consistently engaged in vigorous physical activity during midlife had a lower chance of impaired cognition compared to persistently inactive participants. Similarly, Kraal et al (2021) found that level of physical activity during midlife not only predicted higher levels of memory in later life but more exercise was also associated with slower cognitive decline. In addition, more social engagement during middle age has been found to be associated with less cognitive decline later in life (Marioni et al, 2012(Marioni et al, , 2014.…”

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Relationship Between Neighborhood Environment and Physical Activity Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

“…Responses could have been affected by social desirability bias and the degree of over-reporting may be influenced by individual perceived and measured weight status (Ferrari et al, 2007; Warner et al, 2012). Our PA measure is an estimate of METs based on the frequency of engaging in light, moderate, and vigorous activities (Latham & Williams, 2015; Li et al, 2019; Kraal et al, 2021; Nicklett et al, 2020). Although no studies have yet validated this measure, prior studies have assessed the validity and reliability of estimating METs based on an established self-reported PA questionnaire (Craig et al, 2003; Sember et al, 2020).…”